A pharmacist who worked at CVS in Gate City has been sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for drug tampering in a scheme that involved stealing narcotics and replacing them without other medications.
Dillion Breeding, 34, pled guilty to one count of tampering with consumer products after he admitted that while he was pharmacist, he stole oxymorphone, morphine, hydromorphone, and testosterone, federal court documents show.
He used two methods to obtain the pills. In some cases, while counting out medications with a spatula, he would hide a pill in his hand then take it by mouth, he admitted. In some instances, he stated he shorted patients when he was dispensing their prescriptions.
Court documents show Breeding’s theft was uncovered because the pharmacy manager was filling an oxycodone prescription and noticed stock pill bottles in the narcotics safe were tampered with. The pharmacy manager found that oxycodone had been replaced with prednisone, a steroid used to treat inflammation.
The pharmacy manager reported this issue up the chain. The district leader came to the store, reviewed the surveillance footage, and determined Breeding switched out the drugs, the documents explain.
While the district leader was visiting the Gate City store, a pharmacist discovered bottles labeled hydromorphone that actually contained leflunomide, a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. A day later, the district leader contacted Breeding who admitted to switching out both types of narcotics, the documents show.
In his confession, Breeding said he began taking drugs from CVS around May 2023 and continued until his last day at the pharmacy on October 6, 2023.
I am sorry to my colleagues and for my behavior, which is uncharacteristic of me and influenced entirely by the opioids.
~Dillon Breeding
“I was experiencing intense physical pain in my back due to standing 11-12 hours a day and under insane amounts of stress and demands from job. It was never for any other purpose than to get through the work day” he said.
“The hydromorphone affected my judgment and realization of the consequence,” he stated. Adding, “I find myself shocked at how much power these medications have over your brain.”
United States Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh said Breeding showed a reckless regard for the risk of danger to others. A pharmacist could have filled and dispensed the wrong drug to a customer, placing them in danger of death or bodily injury, he noted.
“When pharmacists betray their customers’ trust by tampering with narcotic medications, they not only risk causing needless suffering from ineffective substitutes but also put lives at risk by introducing potentially harmful substances into the drug supply chain,” said George Scavdis, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Metropolitan Washington Field Office.
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